“Our primary goal is to find the murder weapon,” Svendsen told Politiken newspaper. “Once we do, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to find DNA prints on it. But it’ll be a long process.”

Evidence collected by the police suggests that the killer tried to break into the victim’s car after the attack, but was unable to escape with it.

“We are calling on any witnesses who may have seen someone struggling with the car outside the house,” Svendsen told news broadcaster TV2 News. “The car was broken into but obviously not used. Maybe he couldn’t find the keys.”

In addition, Monday's autopsy showed bruising on the victim’s hands and forearms, indicating she had struggled with her attacker. This has led the police to believe that Abildskov may have surprised an intruder, and that she was killed in the ensuing confrontation.

“We can now say with confidence that she was stabbed in the kitchen, where there are visible signs of a struggle,” Svendsen told Ekstra Bladet Newspaper. “So there’s a good chance that the perpetrator was injured in the process.”

Abildskov’s body is currently being examined for traces of her killer's DNA. Police hope she may have scratched at the intruder during the altercation.

There is no sign of a break-in, which has led to the theory that Abildskov may have known her murderer.

The time of death is said to have occurred after 10:15pm on Thursday night. Abildskov had been out with a friend earlier that night and sent a text message to her boyfriend at that time. It was the last time anyone heard from her.

Abildskov was found in her garden on Friday morning, wearing her pyjamas with several stab wounds to her upper body.